Monday, February 25, 2008

Build Muscle Fast

1. Before you ever step foot in the weight room, whether it be at your house or in a gym somewhere, have a routine ready for each day that you lift. It does not have to be written on paper, but that would be even better! This way, you will not get easily distracted.

2. Motivation - Motivating yourself to lift will help with your consistencey, and will make you want to lift. You need to figure out what motivates you. Maybe you would like to get in better shape in general, or perhaps you are going on vacation and want to look good in a bathing suit. Whatever it is, find something to motivate you and stick with it.

3. Goals - Set strength goals. This will distract you from looking in the mirror. For instance, say you can bench press 150 lbs 5 times. For your next goal, tell yourself that you would like to bench 155 lbs 5 times within the next week. This is a very reasonable goal. If you continue to make new goals, time will fly by. You will be concentrating on these goals, and before you know it, you will see results.

4. Consistency - If you are consistant, you will see results. It's as simple as that.

5. Form - If you do not have good form when you lift, you will not work the right muscles. Or worse, you could get hurt, which will keep you from lifting. If you cannot lift due to injury, then you cannot be consistent, and you will not see results!

6. Rest - Fact: Your muscles grow while you are resting, not when you are lifting. During a workout, you tear your muscles, and they become weak. That is why you are tired after working out. When you rest, your muscles repair themselves, and grow larger in order to handle the new stress you are putting on them. You need to take at least 2 days off for every week that you lift.

7. Nutrition - If you want to build muscle, you should consume daily 1 - 1.5 times your body weight in grams of protein (i.e, if you weigh 150 lbs, consume 150 - 225 grams of protein each day). BUT, do not intake all of that protein via protein shakes. You can intake SOME protein with protein shakes, but intake the rest with other foods high in protein such as eggs, chicken, beef, and fish.

8. Supplements - Supplements are great for giving you that extra edge when lifting. Try 100% whey protein (which is all natural, and a great way to add more protein to your daily diet), or l-glutamine (the most abundant amino acid in your body - taking more of it will boost your immune system and give you more energy, while helping your muscles to grow more quickly). However, before buying any supplement, you should research it first. Asking your physician is also a great idea.

By: Charles E Johnson
If you have any questions at all, just email me at johnsoce18@yahoo.com

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